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Dodging Bulettes
Knocking on the door, Vol'dun calls out for "Kyor-Lin", K'harth's former name. Vol'dun is in rags, and he hands K'harth a bloodied wrapped package containing Kru'el's head. Or rather, one of her heads. He says he just returned from Durotar, where he observed at least 18 more versions of Kru'el, none of them half-spider. He remembers being "born" with amnesia two years ago floating in an oasis on the edge of Durotar, and he's been ranging ever since, hunting for Kru'el and searching for the only other name he knew: Kyor-Lin. Vol'dun also has a scroll outlining an invasion plan from Durotar to Gate set to begin in a week's time. K'harth welcomes Vol'dun's help and challenges him to spar so he can observe his fighting style. K'harth wins closely, and the party agree to head out for Durotar the next day. In the morning, the party hitch up the wagon. Lo'gash (formerly Gun'thar, renamed by K'harth during their training) runs up and asks to come along; K'harth refuses, but Lo'gash judo throws him and he relents. The gang pass the Grif lands in the Fields of Plenty and see that the sign to the village has been crossed out, and the words "now vampire free" are on it. During the trip, Ghorza and K'harth examine Kru'el's head. Ghorza detects faint necromantic energy on it, and they notice the skull and facial characteristics don't match, so Ghorza cuts the face off. They believe the original race of the body was not Drow, but that Kru'el may have raised the corpse and turned it into some sort of body double. Ghorza works on using her Shard to create a shield again, and she has some success while she thinks about someone she is trying to protect. K'harth remembers the phrase "the star and the chute" from his escape years ago, and proposes entering Durotar from a river on the north end, the Deschutes River, the same one he used to escape. The party arrive at the edge of Durotar, standing upon a steep cliff down overlooking a rocky desert landscape. They jump in and land safely. On the ground, there are tremors in the earth, and bulettes (burrowing landsharks) are patrolling the area. The group enter the river and wade upstream as the bulettes follow them. Brodo grabs fish from the river and throws them at the bulettes, distracting them. The slope of the river deepens downward, rushing toward the mouth of an underground river channel. The party jump to safety, but Brodo needs to use Dimension Door to escape the current. On land, his legs are covered in grasping disembodied hands. Looking back, the river is full of these hands at the river tunnel entrance. K'harth realizes this is the spot where he was spat out after escaping the city. The party rest and set up night watches. During K'harth and Vol'dun's watch, they see a shining star in the sky and the specter of Ma'lak (K'harth's friend, killed by Kru'el) on the water. Vol'dun says, "why is there a specter of me over there?". Previous Episode: Truth and Reconciliation Next Episode: Unholy Diver